Ranking the NFL's best under-25 talent

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  • BigBucs
    Unpretentious
    • May 2009
    • 12758

    Ranking the NFL's best under-25 talent

    I dont have the full article since its an insider piece but I do have #32 and #1. Proceed to hate faggots.

    32. New York Jets

    The Jets may have been an 11-win team in 2010, but those 11 wins were courtesy of a starting lineup almost entirely composed of players who will be 26 or older in 2011. The obvious exception, of course, is Mark Sanchez, who happens to play the most important position on the field. It should be said, however, that Sanchez finished 2010 as the 18th-most valuable quarterback according to our DYAR metric, behind several other signal-callers of similar age. Therefore, the extent to which quarterback is the most important position for the Jets, specifically, is debatable.

    Aside from Sanchez, left guard Matt Slauson was the only other young player to start double-digit games last season. Having chosen five-technique defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson with its only pick in the first two rounds, New York also didn't use April's draft to add much in the way of young talent at impact positions.
    31. Dallas Cowboys

    The loss of Tony Romo most impacted the Cowboys' fortunes last season, but their dearth of 25-and-under talent will have a much bigger impact in the long run. With a relatively healthy season outside of Romo's injury, Dallas still had a total of only 30 games started by young talent, 40 percent of which were courtesy of tight end Martellus Bennett. Felix Jones, Dez Bryant and first-round pick Tyron Smith are poised to become full-time starters in 2011, so that total should increase. However, if Smith, who played right tackle at Southern California, doesn't develop into the left tackle that the Cowboys envision, and Bryant's targets are limited by the presence of Miles Austin and Jason Witten, Dallas will be as unlikely as any NFL team to find Pro Bowl-caliber contributions from its young players.
    30. Atlanta Falcons

    To read the rest of the rankings of all NFL organizations based on under-25 talent, you must be an ESPN Insider.
    1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
    In our estimation, the Bucs have the NFL's best group of talented young players at offensive skill positions. 2009 first-rounder Josh Freeman, 2010 fourth-rounder Mike Williams and waiver-wire coup LeGarrette Blount were the driving forces behind the team's improvement from 26th to ninth in offensive efficiency. In only his second year, Freeman developed into one of the league's 10 most efficient quarterbacks. Having a player that young and that good at the most important position on the field is the main reason the Bucs top our list. The talent doesn't stop there, though.

    On defense, Tampa Bay got incredible value in the second round when it selected Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers to improve its 31st-ranked pass rush. Even with the injury concerns, we projected him as a mid-to-late first-round pass-rushing prospect. In the secondary, the Bucs are leaning toward promoting 24-year-old E.J. Biggers into the starting lineup pending the suspension or release of Aqib Talib. Of course, if Talib is able to avoid the reaper somehow, then we can add to the Bucs' assembly of young talent a 25-year-old cornerback who had six interceptions in 11 games.

    Finally, although Tampa Bay finished dead last in run defense efficiency last season, the addition of first-rounder Adrian Clayborn, and another year in Raheem Morris' system for Gerald McCoy, Roy Miller and Geno Hayes is likely to turn things around in short order. It can't be overstated how good of a job general manager Mark Dominik has done restocking Tampa Bay's cupboard over the past two years.




  • Sigona
    Posts too much
    • Aug 2010
    • 9926

    #2
    Here's the rankings for the top 25-players under 25...

    I'll take back-to-back AFC Championship games with a QB under 25 rather than a #1 ranking in some ESPN ranking sheet.

    25. David Nelson, WR, Buffalo Bills
    Our last cut in turning the Top 26 into a Top 25 last year was WR Steve Johnson of the Bills; while Johnson was best-known for his drop against the Steelers, he had quite the breakout season. We're not going to make the same mistake twice. While the Bills aren't exactly known for having an explosive passing game, Nelson could help make things easier for Johnson and Lee Evans by serving as an effective option out of the slot. Nelson finished his season with touchdowns in three straight games before suffering a season-ending rib injury against the Patriots. With the Bills likely to spend another season trailing in most of their games, Nelson should see a lot of time in three-wide sets.

    24. Stevenson Sylvester, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers
    The Steelers don't generally put rookies right into the lineup, at least on defense. They give players one or two years on special teams or in part-time roles while they can learn how the system works. Despite playing mostly special teams last year, this 2010 fifth-round pick from Utah has been set up as the heir apparent to 36-year-old inside linebacker James Farrior. Sylvester is an aggressive, high-motor player, although he dropped in the draft because scouts felt he was somewhat undersized (then again, 6-foot-2, 231 pounds is not much different from Lawrence Timmons). Pittsburgh linebackers coach Keith Butler has praised Sylvester's feel for blitzes, an important part of playing inside linebacker in coordinator Dick LeBeau's defense.

    23. Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, DE, Philadelphia Eagles
    A SackSEER favorite, Te'o-Nesheim spent most of his rookie year on special teams. In the meaningless Week 17 game, though, the Eagles gave him a start at defensive end and let him just rush Stephen McGee to his heart's content. He finished the game with a sack and a quarterback hurry while holding up effectively against the run. He'll be in the rotation at defensive end this year for legendary defensive line coach Jim Washburn. The hope is that Washburn can do for Te'o-Nesheim what he did for another high-motor defensive end: Kyle Vanden Bosch.

    22. Donald Butler, LB, San Diego Chargers
    Butler is the only player on this list yet to take an NFL snap, owing to a torn Achilles tendon that ended his rookie year before it started. Heading into last year, the third-round pick was talked about as a potential starter at inside linebacker, which has been a troublesome position for the Chargers to fill over the past few seasons. The team could use his David Harris-style play against the run, and while the Achilles tear might slow him down at the beginning of the season, don't be surprised if he's starting by the end of the year.

    21. Blair White, WR, Indianapolis Colts
    Let's make this clear: White isn't a great player. He's a decent wide receiver with good size who happens to be in the best offense for a player with his skill set. And while he's currently fifth on the depth chart at wideout, he's behind two players (Austin Collie and Anthony Gonzalez) with severe injury issues, and a third guy (Pierre Garcon) who can be wildly inconsistent from play to play. In other words, if everything goes right, White could carve out a very meaningful role in one of the league's best passing attacks. And the odds of things going right for him are higher than they are for any other fifth wideout in football.

    20. Doug Legursky, OL, Pittsburgh Steelers
    One of the many Steelers reserves to step in on the offensive line during the regular season, Legursky was thrust into the national spotlight as the replacement for the injured Maurkice Pouncey in Super Bowl XLV. Despite expectations that he would struggle mightily against the Packers' frequently dominant front three, Legursky had a solid day in the biggest game of his career. At the very least, he's a versatile reserve with steel nerves. He could compete for a starting spot at guard in training camp this season.

    19. Ed Dickson, TE, Baltimore Ravens
    With Todd Heap's career as a starter winding down, the Ravens drafted Dickson and Dennis Pitta in 2010, hoping that one of them would develop into Heap's replacement. So far, Dickson looks like the better of the two, having stepped into the starting role while Heap missed time with an ankle injury at the end of last season. Dickson is a naturally a speedy tight end with good hands that remains a project as a blocker. Expect his role in the passing game to increase in 2011, with the hopes that he'll take over as the starter in 2012.

    18. Desmond Bryant, DT, Oakland Raiders
    A Harvard graduate playing for the Raiders is, on its face, comical. Getting past the fish-out-of-water jokes might be tough, but Bryant has emerged as a valuable rotation player on one of the league's best defensive lines. Twenty-one tackles don't seem all that impressive, but Bryant showed an impressive ability to penetrate and make plays in the backfield, including six defeats and 2.5 sacks.

    17. Chris Ivory, RB, New Orleans Saints
    After injuries to Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush, the Saints were forced to hand over the reins of their running game to Ivory, an undrafted free agent out of Tiffin University. Ivory promptly produced a 59 percent success rate, the best of any back in football, on his 137 carries. Although he offered nothing as a receiver and wasn't a great blocker, his contributions as a runner for the league-minimum salary were nothing short of extraordinary. He needs to improve on the small stuff and work on holding onto the ball (35 touches per fumble just won't cut it), but he should be part of an above-average rotation at halfback starting now.

    16. Erik Walden, LB, Green Bay Packers
    Walden wasn't even the first afterthought to show up at linebacker for the Packers; Frank Zombo won a roster spot in training camp and then became a starter, only to go down with a knee injury in Week 14 that kept him out until the Super Bowl. That gave Walden, a veteran of four NFL teams in two years, a spot in the starting lineup. All Walden did was win Defensive Player of the Week in the season-ending win over the Bears, thanks to a three-sack performance. He served as an effective spy in the Packers' nickel package, and if he doesn't make the team this year, he'll bounce back somewhere as a linebacker specializing in pass defense.

    15. James Starks, RB, Green Bay Packers
    A speed score favorite (106.3) taken in the sixth round of the 2010 draft, Starks spent most of the year as a rumor tossed around by Packers fans desirous of an effective replacement for the injured Ryan Grant. And while his eventual run as the starter during Week 17 and the playoffs was a success owing partly to huge carry totals and middling run defenses, he did show the potential to be an eventual starter at the pro level. In 2011, he should be part of a one-two combination with Grant, although he could lose snaps to nominal third back Brandon Jackson because of the latter's ability as a pass-blocker.

    14. Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
    Sanders inherited the slot receiver role vacated by Mike Wallace before the season, impressed coaches with his blocking ability during camp, and then emerged as a valuable part of the team's three-wideout sets during the second half of the season. Forty-five of his 50 targets came after Week 9, and he had just one target all year in a two-wideout set. He didn't show the promise Wallace did as a rookie, but Sanders is on pace to become the No. 2 two wideout behind him once Hines Ward bows out.

    13. Andre Roberts, WR, Arizona Cardinals
    The Cardinals' coaching staff became more and more enamored with this third-round pick as the season went on; by the final two weeks, he was basically playing ahead of starter Steve Breaston. With Breaston gone, Roberts' speed, athleticism and health should give him the No. 2 receiver job ahead of Early Doucet. His poor rookie DVOA rating of minus-39.7 percent can be blamed in large part on last year's awful quarterback situation. Ten of the 25 incomplete passes to Roberts were marked by our game charters as "overthrown," including a quick hitch pass behind the line of scrimmage.

    12. Derek Hardman, OL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
    It's hard enough to be a rookie in the NFL. For Hardman, it was harder than most. After being cut in training camp and falling to the practice squad, he was added to the active roster during the season once injuries started to beset the Bucs. After guard Davin Joseph went down with a foot injury, Hardman was placed into the lineup to replace him. One problem: As a college tackle, he had never played guard before. Hardman ended up doing a fine job in Joseph's stead, and he'll be in the mix for a starting job somewhere along the line next season.

    11. Matt Flynn, QB, Green Bay Packers
    Sure, he got to play with some of the best offensive talent in football during that narrow loss to the Patriots, but remember: He was replacing Aaron Rodgers. A guy who could do a reasonable impression of Rodgers in most weeks would be worth a lot of money, and while he struggled in relief of Rodgers against the Detroit Lions, Flynn showed more poise than anyone could have expected against the Patriots before that ugly final drive. Even if he doesn't take another snap for the Packers, he'll end up competing for a starting job somewhere down the line.

    10. Jordan Shipley, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
    Eighty-five players qualified for the leaderboard in our receiver statistics by being targeted on 50 passes or more. Of those 85 players, only one -- Austin Collie -- had a catch rate greater than the 70 percent figure put up by Shipley last season. Shipley's catch rate was actually slightly ahead of the other slot receivers he's often compared to: Wes Welker and Danny Amendola. He even posted the best DVOA of the three, along with the only positive receiving DVOA by any qualifying Bengals receiver. Shipley isn't going to be a star, but he's going to be a contributor on the next effective Bengals offense.

    9. Lardarius Webb, CB, Baltimore Ravens
    While Webb was expected to miss time recovering from a torn ACL, he made it back to the lineup in Week 2 and played the rest of the way as a nickel cornerback. Unfortunately, he was far from 100 percent, and it showed. Teams picked on him as the weak link in an already limited Ravens secondary, and while he responded with 10 passes defensed, he was also in coverage on eight plays that produced 20 yards or more. Another year removed from surgery, he should blossom into a starting-caliber cornerback on one of the league's best defenses.

    8. Tashard Choice, RB, Dallas Cowboys
    Choice is already fully-formed as a receiver and pass blocker. Unfortunately, he got lost in the shuffle in 2010 behind Marion Barber -- who will be released -- and Felix Jones, effectively disappearing from the lineup before returning in Week 13 with a 100-yard game against the Colts. You may have noticed his absence when fullback Chris Gronkowski missed the block that led to Tony Romo's season-ending collarbone fracture. With Romo's return, expect Jason Garrett to place a premium on keeping his quarterback healthy, which could mean more time for Choice in the lineup. Last year's 3.7 yards per carry average is really the product of small sample size; Choice's abilities are better represented by his 4.8 yards per carry career average.

    7. Shonn Greene, RB, New York Jets
    Poised to take over as the lead back on a run-happy team after a great 2009 playoff run, Greene struggled to hold onto the ball in Week 1 (admittedly against the Ravens) and spent the rest of the season in a timeshare with LaDainian Tomlinson. Nobody doubts Greene's ability to run effectively with the ball in his hands, but with a quarterback as limited offensively as Mark Sanchez, the running back's role as a pass blocker and dump-off receiver is essential. Young backs often struggle with those dark arts before improving with time, so don't fret: Greene's still on pace to be a very good running back.

    6. Geno Atkins, DT, Cincinnati Bengals
    At first glance, Atkins doesn't look like a great prospect; he had three sacks in a full season while playing for a mediocre defense. With Atkins, though, it's the more subtle stuff that suggests he has serious potential. For one, Atkins is a defensive tackle. Getting even three sacks as a rookie is a positive sign. There's also a lot bubbling under the surface suggesting that his sack rate could rise, too. While preseason stats aren't consistently meaningful, he produced 4.5 sacks in five games. And during the regular season, Atkins led the team in our advanced pass rush metrics by a good amount. He had nine quarterback hits, four more than any other Bengals defender, while his 17.5 hurries outpaced the rest of the lineup by five. A great pass-rusher with the size to play inside in a 4-3 is rare indeed, but it looks like the Bengals have that in Atkins.

    5. Danny Woodhead, RB, New England Patriots
    Although he was bound to receive umpteen amounts of hype upon succeeding as a member of the league's best offense, Woodhead deserves to be noted as a wildly efficient player in an incredibly cheap backfield. Woodhead was second amongst running backs in receiving DVOA, and with three additional carries he would have led qualifying backs in rushing DVOA. The easy comp is Kevin Faulk, but Faulk was never this effective. A better statistical comp is Charlie Garner, whose career wouldn't be a bad return for a guy the Patriots picked up for nothing.

    4. Jamar Chaney, LB, Philadelphia Eagles
    Since Andy Reid took over as the main man in Philadelphia before the 1999 season, the Eagles have struggled to find useful, consistent linebackers to play in their famously aggressive defense. High draft picks like Matt McCoy and veteran acquisitions like Ernie Sims seem to fail with equal aplomb. Their new hope is Chaney, a seventh-round pick in the 2010 draft who took over at middle linebacker after Stewart Bradley dislocated his elbow. By the end of the season, the Eagles were talking about moving Bradley to the strong side and leaving Chaney in as an every-down linebacker. Truthfully, it's a mystery how Chaney fell to the seventh round. An undersized, speedy linebacker that's conversant with pass defense is something every team needs in a shotgun-friendly league. Although Philly will continue to rotate its other linebackers, expect Chaney to be a mainstay for the Eagles going forward.

    3. Wallace Gilberry, DE, Kansas City Chiefs
    If you're looking for a good rule of thumb when it comes to evaluating the potential impact of young defensive linemen, there's one simple rule: Sacks trump everything. If you can get to the passer as a young player, you will have a job in the NFL. It's that easy. And although Gilberry was an undrafted free agent who the Giants signed and quickly released, he's exhibited an ability to make plays as a pass rusher since the Chiefs signed him. After a 4.5-sack season in 2009, Gilberry contributed seven sacks, eight quarterback hits and 10 hurries for the Kansas City defense in 2010. In each category, that was behind only Tamba Hali for the team lead, despite the fact that Gilberry started just two games. The only issue for Gilberry is opportunity: At defensive end, he's playing behind two top-five picks in Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson, and he's probably too big to play outside linebacker in the 3-4. He could be a double-digit sack guy if he moves to a team that plays a 4-3, which could happen in 2012.

    2. Morgan Burnett, S, Green Bay Packers
    The Packers traded up to grab Burnett in the third round of last year's draft, and when starter Atari Bigby was placed on the physically unable to perform list to start the season, Burnett went straight into the starting lineup. He impressed before tearing an ACL in Week 4, which ended his season. He'll be healthy for the beginning of the 2011 season, and as a solid all-around player with great athleticism, he's going to get better with experience. With Bigby not tendered a contract and the best secondary in the league around him, Burnett should end up maturing into the next great Packers defensive back.

    1. Jared Cook, TE, Tennessee Titans
    Cook is a Jermichael Finley clone in terms of size and pedigree, with one pound and two slots in the draft separating them as far as measurables. The scary thing is that Cook is a significantly better athlete than Finley, putting up a 4.49 40-yard dash and 41-inch vertical leap at the 2009 combine, one year after Finley put up a 4.82 and had a 27.5-inch vertical. Like Finley, Cook was basically a shiny bauble with little use until his second pro season, although Finley broke out in training camp, whereas Cook was barely on the field before Week 11. Once Cook got his chance, though, he delivered.

    Over the final seven games of the season, Cook produced 26 catches for 303 yards and his first NFL touchdown, including a 96-yard game against the Chiefs in Week 16. And this was with Kerry Collins and Rusty Smith at quarterback. With a full year as the starter ahead of him in 2011, Cook should be an occasionally dominant receiver as the No. 2 option in Tennessee's passing offense, running past safeties worried about Chris Johnson. He could become a regular Pro Bowler, beginning as early as this season.

    Comment

    • BigBucs
      Unpretentious
      • May 2009
      • 12758

      #3
      ^^^ Read bro

      Want to be a great NFL organization? Find talent in places where other teams don't. It's one thing to find a great player in the first round of the draft, where talent is unquestioned and success is more a question of scheme and fit than anything else. When teams supplement success in the first round with great work on the final day of the draft and in rookie free agency, they create advantages up and down the roster that other teams simply can't compete with.

      For the uninitiated, this list is not like the prospect lists you read about in the world of baseball. Because the top prospects in college football are stars on national television before they get taken in the first round of the NFL draft, there's not much utility in listing them here. Instead, we use a combination of statistics, measurables, context and expected roles to compile a list of under-the-radar players whom we expect to make an impact in the NFL, both in 2011 and beyond. To focus on these players, we limit the pool to guys who fit the following criteria:
      • Drafted in the third round or later, or signed as a college free agent
      • Entered the NFL between 2008 and 2010
      • Fewer than five career games started
      • Still on a rookie contract




      Comment

      • StealthShot
        Eat it
        • Oct 2008
        • 5048

        #4
        LOL at some of these names.

        And also the Jets are young at pretty much every key position.


        Comment

        • Sigona
          Posts too much
          • Aug 2010
          • 9926

          #5
          Fewer than five career games started
          You're taking pride in having the best players that have seen the NFL field as much as I have or caught a glimpse of it. Congrats.

          Comment

          • BigBucs
            Unpretentious
            • May 2009
            • 12758

            #6
            Originally posted by Sigona
            You're taking pride in having the best players that have seen the NFL field as much as I have or caught a glimpse of it. Congrats.
            Didnt I just tell you to read. The list you posted (Top 25 Prospects) has a completely different criteria from the one I posted. Your list is that of prospects, players under the radar, diamonds in the rough etc.. etc.... My list is that of your top 25 talent as a whole. You cant be that slow/




            Comment

            • EmpireWF
              Giants in the Super Bowl
              • Mar 2009
              • 24082

              #7
              So you give us excerpts of an Insider article to gloat about how your Bucs are so young?



              Comment

              • BigBucs
                Unpretentious
                • May 2009
                • 12758

                #8
                Originally posted by EmpireWF
                So you give us excerpts of an Insider article to gloat about how your Bucs are so young?

                Gave you the only part that mattered... Bucs >>

                :davegrohl:




                Comment

                • Sigona
                  Posts too much
                  • Aug 2010
                  • 9926

                  #9
                  Originally posted by BigBucs
                  Didnt I just tell you to read. The list you posted (Top 25 Prospects) has a completely different criteria from the one I posted. Your list is that of prospects, players under the radar, diamonds in the rough etc.. etc.... My list is that of your top 25 talent as a whole. You cant be that slow/
                  How am I being slow? You posted 3/32 pieces of an entire article to try and brag and I posted the ranking of the top u25 players. I don't care what the criteria is...giving this it's own thread is pretty fucking retarded.

                  Comment

                  • Woy
                    RIP West
                    • Dec 2008
                    • 16372

                    #10
                    Originally posted by EmpireWF
                    So you give us excerpts of an Insider article to gloat about how your Bucs are so young?

                    Yeah, I'm just going to combine all of his threads so he has his own Tampa Bay Bucs Team Thread, like the Giants thread and other teams.



                    ^ Shouts to MvP for the sick sig. GFX TEAM BACK

                    .

                    Comment

                    • bucky
                      #50? WTF?
                      • Feb 2009
                      • 5408

                      #11
                      The players list missed Sam Shields - GB CB.

                      Comment

                      • mgoblue2290
                        Posts too much
                        • Feb 2009
                        • 7174

                        #12
                        No Ndamukong Suh? This list now has no credibility.

                        Comment

                        • Senser81
                          VSN Poster of the Year
                          • Feb 2009
                          • 12804

                          #13
                          Originally posted by BigBucs
                          Didnt I just tell you to read. The list you posted (Top 25 Prospects) has a completely different criteria from the one I posted. Your list is that of prospects, players under the radar, diamonds in the rough etc.. etc.... My list is that of your top 25 talent as a whole. You cant be that slow/
                          But your list isn't really a ranking of the NFL's best under-25 talent, either. It makes no sense to combine individual players with teams and then produce some bastardized list. Who are the NFL's top players under 25 years old? The Tampa Bay Bucs, of course.

                          Who is baseball's all-time leading home run hitter? The New York Yankees.

                          Another terrible sports-related thread by a D- poster.

                          Comment

                          • G-men
                            Posts too much
                            • Nov 2011
                            • 7579

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Sigona
                            How am I being slow? You posted 3/32 pieces of an entire article to try and brag and I posted the ranking of the top u25 players. I don't care what the criteria is...giving this it's own thread is pretty fucking retarded.
                            You don't get what he's trying to say. You didn't post what you think you posted. That isn't a list of the top players under 25, it's a list up the top up-and-coming players under 25. Otherwise, you would expect to see Josh Freeman, Ndamukong Suh, Devin McCourty, and yes, even Mark Sanchez.

                            Comment

                            • mgoblue2290
                              Posts too much
                              • Feb 2009
                              • 7174

                              #15
                              Originally posted by G-Men
                              You don't get what he's trying to say. You didn't post what you think you posted. That isn't a list of the top players under 25, it's a list up the top up-and-coming players under 25. Otherwise, you would expect to see Josh Freeman, Ndamukong Suh, Devin McCourty, and yes, even Mark Sanchez.
                              Ok that makes a lot more sense then.

                              Comment

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